Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) Managing Director Gopal Bahadur Khadka has boldly admitted that NOC unlawfully awarded a petroleum supply contract to Birat Oil.After dilly-dallying in awarding the global tender to import fuel saying none of the bids were feasible and finally awarding the contract to a Nepali company, Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) seems to be trying to downplay its decision.Breaching existing laws, NOC issued Rs 200 million to Birat Oil to open a letter of credit (LC) for importing petroleum products into Nepal.
Moreover, the agreement entered into with the company is such that the state-owned fuel monopoly has to purchase from Birat Oil at a highly inflated rate.As per the proposal submitted by Birat, it will buy petrol and diesel from Siliguri depot of Bharat Petroleum Corporation and sell the petrol to NOC at Rs 199 per litre and diesel at Rs 178 a litre.
The quoted rates are 91.35 per cent and 119.75 per cent higher than the existing market price of petrol and diesel, respectively.However, Birat Oil, to which NOC has unlawfully given a contract to supply petroleum products, was blacklisted four years ago. The cabinet on April 19, 2012 had directed that Birat Oil be shut down after the company was found selling petroleum products adulterated with used engine oil.
A High Level Investigation Committee for Petroleum Products headed by then lawmaker Bhim Aacharya had found Birat Oil guilt. Biratnagar-based Birat Oil is owned by Arjun Chhe
